"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world ... Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom ... Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge, Now, therefore ..." For the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in many languages, click here.
Words of Power Human Rights Updates -- Archive
Adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be unequivocal, i.e., without exceptions. A nation's concern for human rights must not be selective, opportunistic or convenient -- no matter what natural resource, trade opportunity or geopolitical gambit is at stake.
Those who think that such a policy would be weak, naive and impractical, do not understand the course and force of history as we hurtle on into the 21st Century, nor do they understand what real strength is, or where real power comes from.
My attention to this subject area is focused, in large part, on threats to women, children and indigenous peoples -- because they are the most vital and vulnerable among us, linking us both to our heritage and our legacy.
There are many references to human rights issues throughout the Words of Power site.
This particular archive contains a directory of Human Rights Updates along with some related posts.
See also Darfur Crisis Updates -- Archive and UN Millennium Goals Updates -- Archive.
-- Richard Power
UNIFEM, Violence Against Women, & the Global Significance of Sonia Sotomayor Going to SCOTUS
Global News Media Update: Across the Planet, Having A By-Line Demands Courage, But in the USA, for Every Danny Pearl, There are 100 Anderson Coopers
Scientists Make Breakthrough in Search for the Source of Wisdom; Meanwhile, in Burma, Tibet & Darfur, Brute Force & Blind Greed Still Rule
Congo Crisis: You & I are Intimately Involved in the Catastrophe; We are the Ultimate Benefactors of the Misery, & Perhaps the Only Hope of Ending It
Remember, the Congo is an Economic War, and Darfur is a Resource War; How Far from Your Door Does the Shadow of Hell Fall?
Congo Crisis Update: Global Witness Pressures Cell Phone Manufacturers to Accept Responsibility & Act -- Responsibly
Congo Crisis: Eve Ensler Raises Awareness, Medicines Sans Frontieres Denounces Cowering Peacekeepers; Hopefully, Susan Rice & Samantha Power Will Act
Africa, the Cradle, Yes, but Not the Grave; Two Stories of Rising Power from the Lost Eden
What Omer Goldman & the Child Soldiers of the Congo Could Teach the Political Establishment & Mainstream News Media
Valdênia Paulino & Shirin Ebadi are in Danger -- Women Must Not Only Be Empowered, They Must Be Protected as They Rise Up to Exercise that Power
Human Rights Update: Burma, the Congo & Tibet -- Just Another Day?
The Congo Conflict is An Economic War, Rape is Being Used as a Weapon of Terror; Here is What Should Be Done & Why It Won't Be (At Least Not Soon)
Congo Crisis Update: "Conditions look frighteningly similar to those before the Rwanda genocide in 1994"
While Great Nations & Captains of Industry Look the Other Way, Unchastened Thugocracies Crush the Defiant in Burma & the Defenseless in Darfur
Burma Crisis Update: A Blogger Gets 20 Years, 14 Democracy Activists Get 65 Years Each; Meanwhile, Business as Usual for Energy Giants
Human Rights Watch, OXFAM & others call on world to "take immediate action to protect civilians who are at severe risk in eastern Congo"
Human Rights Update: "For every two children released, five are abducted and forced to be child soldiers, said Amnesty International."
35 Years After the Coup, Salvador Allende, Who Died A Martyr for Democracy, Elected "Greatest Chilean in History" -- Tragically, USA Chooses Reagan
Human Rights Update: UNIFEM Works for Achievement of the "Missing Goal" -- Ending Violence Against Women
While Palin Rattles A Saber She Should Not Have Been Given; Aung San Suu Kyi Quietly, Peacefully Delivers Another Blow to the Burmese Thugocracy
Weigh the Coverage of Sarah Palin's Ascension Against the Coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi's Hunger Strike & Ask Yourself What Happened to Your Culture?
"Over 200 insurance companies have stated they do not provide (re)insurance services to companies operating in Burma. They have set an example ..."
The Arrest of Radovan Karadzic -- "Triumph for the rule of law"
Sustainability & Human Rights are Inseparable -- The Blind Will to Drill and Dam is Not Only Absurd, It is Obscene
1,000 Tibetans Disappeared, Almost 100% of Darfur Refugee Women Raped, Volunteer Grave-Diggers Arrested By Burma's Junta; Still Going to the Olympics?
From Katmandu to Karthoum, from Burma to Beltwayistan, the Conscience of the World Seems Cut-Off from Action; Here's How to Break the Spell
Burma Crisis Update: Perhaps Chevron Should Re-Name the Yadana Pipeline After Condolezza Rice?
Why Protecting the People of Darfur, Tibet & Burma is in Our Own Self-Interest; & What These Crises Tell Us about Our Own Slide into the Pit
Wangari Maathai Will Not Carry Olympic Torch, In "Solidarity with Other People on the Issues of Human Rights in ... Darfur, Tibet & Burma ..."
Human Rights Update: China Seals Tibet's Borders; "Lhasa long ago became China's Gaza Strip"
How About Making Hypocrisy An Olympic Competition?
Human Rights Update: H.H. Dalai Lama to the World -- "Please investigate ... cultural genocide is taking place"
Human Rights Update: H.H. Dalai Lama to the Chinese -- "address the long-simmering resentment of the Tibetan people"
Burma Crisis Update: Non-Violent, Democratic Resistance of Burmese People Offers Stark Contrast to US Political Scene
Human Rights Update: UN General Secretary Reports that the Number of Entities Using Child Soldiers has Increased
UNIFEM Asks You to Take a Stand in the Global Fight to End Violence Against Women; It Will Cost You Nothing But the Time to Type Your Name
Human Rights Update: Most Basic Rights of Women Under Attack in Iran, the Congo & Even in Evo Morales' New Bolivia
Those in the Developed World Who Think What is Happening in Kenya is Something Distant & Peculiar to the African Continent are Living in a Dream ...
The Real War on Christmas Targets the Displaced of Darfur & New Orleans
While Bush Mangles Names & Ducks Out Early on Phony Peace Conference, Tutu Manifests the Power of the Prophetic Tradition & Speaks Old Testament Truth
Human Rights Update: Ending Violence Against Women is a Global Imperative; UNIFEM Launches Campaign
Burma Crisis Update: Human Rights Watch Names Corporate Names, Calls for Targeted Sanctions Needed on Petroleum Industry
In Burma & Sudan, Business As Usual -- What Must & Can Be Done Now!
Burma Crisis Update 11-10-07: Amnesty International on "Grave & Ongoing Human Rights Violations"; Alternate Media Vital to Resistance
Burma Crisis Update: An Open Letter to the Executives of Chevron
In This Century of Crisis, Empowering Women is Vital if the Human Race is to Prevail, i.e., Evolve
Burma & Darfur Update: Hypocrisy of Great Nations is Toxic, Complicity of Major Banks & Corporations is Shameless
Child Soldiers: Planetary Problem Persists, Burma Now Worst Case; Meanwhile, in the World's Mega-Slums, Millions More Go Uncounted & Unacknowledged
Human Rights Update 10-6-07: Chevron, Condoleeza Rice & the Burmese Thugocracy
Human Rights Update: Blackwater, Burma, Darfur & You
Human Rights Update 9-24-07: Don't Miss the Multiple Meanings of this Moment in Burma
Human Rights Update 9-23-07: Will You Step Outside & Join the Burmese in 15 Minutes of Prayer?
Human Rights Update 9-24-07: Don't Miss the Multiple Meanings of this Moment in Burma
Human Rights Update 9-23-07: Will You Step Outside & Join the Burmese in 15 Minutes of Prayer?
GS(3) Thunderbolt 9-14-07: In Pakistan, the Dharma Repels an Attack; In Burma, the Dharma Sparks an Uprising
Human Rights Update 9-13-07: UN Adopts Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Human Rights Update 9-6-07: In the 21st Century, Sane Men are Feminists -- UNIFEM Works to Dismantle the Edifice of Dysfunction
Human Rights Update 8-9-07: Indigenous People's Day -- "The white roots from the Tree of Peace go in the four directions."
Human Rights Update (6-26-07) -- A Victory for Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone, But What About the Child Soldiers in the Streets of the USA?
Human Rights Update 6-12-07: Remember Aung San Suu Kyi, Honor Her Sacrifice, Reflect on Your Own Freedom & What You Choose to Do With It
Hard Rain Journal 5-8-07: In Russia, China and the USA -- Permutations of Orwell's Nightmare Vision
Hard Rain Journal 4-21-07: Human Rights Update -- In War and Poverty, Children Forsaken on a Planetary Scale
GS(3) Thunderbolt: Statement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama on the Forty-Eighth Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day
Words of Power #33: A Quarter-Century Ago, Jimmy Carter Warned of This Grim Period, His Prophetic Call was Not Heeded
Hard Rain Journal 2-28-07: Human Rights Update -- Naming Names in Darfur and Ten Steps the USA Must Take to Redeem Itself
Hard Rain Journal 2-17-07: UN Millennium Goals and Human Rights Update -- Healing Balm for the World? Feed Children, Empower Women
Human Rights and UN Millennium Goals Update -- The Real Poverty is on Easy Street
Hard Rain Journal 1-8-07: Human Rights and Environmental Security Update from Burma, Cambodia and Mekong River
Hard Rain Journal 12-4-06: Human Rights Update -- Unless You Protect Women, Children and Indigenous Peoples, You Cannot Achieve Real Security
Hard Rain Journal 11-14-06: Human Rights Update -- Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
Words of Power #3: Gangstas = Child Soldiers Without A Country
